Baking, it's good for your soul

I arrived home from a long workout at the Y this afternoon feeling absolutely exhausted from a 70 minute workout on the bike and a 2,000 yard pool session.  I have been working on my graduate school applications non stop the past few days, I could probably recite my statement of purpose to you from memory.  My point?  I felt a need to spend some time in the kitchen, something that always helps me relax and unwind.  I have been wanting to tackle homemade bread for a while now, but it is something that requires a great deal of time.  I haven't had a chunk of time where I have been around my apartment for the long period of time required for the bread making process, but this afternoon provided the perfect opportunity.  The recipe I used was from the Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking cookbook that my Mom gave both my sister and I four years ago for Christmas.  This was my very first cookbook and is a wonderful resource to have in any kitchen. I paged through it last night and decided to make Oatmeal-Molasses Bread.  After I began the process, I was not able to leave all afternoon, but let me tell you, it was totally-completely-absolutely-one hundred percent worth it.  I don't know what words to use to describe this bread, so I will stick with out of this world. I just cut into the first loaf and enjoyed a slice that was still slightly warm from the oven.  This bread is moist, dense, and melts in your mouth.  I would be lying if I said I had plans on eating anything other than this bread all weekend. I took a few pictures this afternoon but now that the bread is out of the oven, it is dark outside and I just cannot bare to take a picture of it in anything other than natural day light. I feel as though I would be letting this bread down if I posted a less than beautiful picture of the finished product and heaven forbid, I don't want to do that.

Mixing in the flour

After kneading for 6 minutes-my arms were tired!

The bread, ready to rise in the oiled bowl.

Oatmeal-Molasses Bread (from Williams Sonoma, Essentials of Baking, page 49)
2 1/3 cups water
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, plus extra for topping the loaves
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
2 packages active dry yeast
5-6 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 teaspoons sea salt

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil.  Put the oats into a heatproof bowl, and pour the water over the oats.  Add the butter and molasses, and let the mixture cool to warm (105-115 degrees).  In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm oat mixture and let stand for five minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in 3 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing well.  Add the remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. Using a plastic pastry scraper, scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a floured work surface.  Knead until it is smooth and elastic, dusting the work surface with only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, 5-7 minutes.  Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm, darft-free spot until it double in bulk, about 1 hour.
Butter two 9-by-5 inch loaf pans.  Punch down the dough and, using the pastry scraper, scrape it out onto a clean work surface.  Cut it in half with a sharp knife or bench scraper.
For each half, evenly flatten the dough with the heel of your hand.  Roll the top third down onto itself and seal it by pushing it gently with the heel of your hand.  Continue rolling and sealing the dough until you have an oval log.  Place the logs, seam side down, in the prepared laof pans.  Press on them to flatten them evenly into the pans.  Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let them rise in a warm, draft-free spot until they double in size, about 45-60 mintues.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees.  Mist the tops of the loaves with water.  Sprinkle the tops with a generous handful of oats.  Bake until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on top, 40-45 minutes.  Carefully remove the loaves from the pans and let cool completely on wire racks before slicing.